Orson Welles' Othello

Orson Welles' Othello
by Orson Welles

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Movie Reviews of Orson Welles' Othello

Movie Review: Why the LOST masterpiece?
Summary: 5 Stars

With Othello, Welles had virtually no backing apart from his own money. Subsequently, he spent alot of time acting in other people's movies to make the expensive film costs. This is why "Othello" took so long to make. Welles had nightmarish problems with refilming when actors couldn't make the call after the long waiting periods (read Michael Macliammoir's "Put Money In Thy Purse"-his diaries during the making of "Othello"). Therefore, Mr Welles travelled through thick & thin to give us this incredible movie. From the first image of the funeral, the angles & the look of the film is staggering to say the least. Macliammoir is brilliant as Iago. The part where he is hoisted up in a cage, should be one of those scenes they always flash in a greatest scenes montage. Orson is in great Shakspearian form & shines through all his scenes. I don't think any film maker today could come close to this film's stunning beauty & innovative camera shots. To think it was made on a low budget makes you reconsider the quality of something like the "Blair Witch Project", considering the 1950's had yet to invent the low costing video camera. But this is besides the point.

"Othello" is THE most underated film in the history of movie making, and it IS a true masterpiece. No wonder it won an award at Cannes at the time. God bless Welles' lovely daughter, Beatrice for restoring & caring for the film. It is an incredible restoration, considering the lack of existing negatives. It just shows how Welles' reputation was tarnished through the years by rediculous criticism. This movie has become "The Lost Masterpiece" because of the critics. It should never have been lost. Welles created many myths about himself, but the popular myth about him shared by most people is the idea that he made this amazing debut film & then everything from then on was substandard. The rise & fall nonsense. In reality all his films are of the same standard but are only marred by bad editing by other people's hands. Welles' genius was just as rampant in film-editing but he rarely got the oppurtunity. Besides, these movies were his babies, not some bespectacled "Barton Fink" character employed by the studio. If I had had money while the man was still alive, I would have given it all to him to make wonderful films. All these people standing around him like Peter Bogdanovich saying how great he is when they should have been pulling some strings & getting the man a deal with the studios. I can't believe his last film "The Other Side Of The Wind", has never been seen because of dodgey finacial deals at the time. This is a tragedy. What was there not to like about Mr Welles? I believe he was just too damn good. With him around, nobody had a chance.

So we must be thankfull for the dozen or so films he left us. It's a shame that he is more respected now than when he was alive. It's as if the public & the movie community have suddenly realised the magnitude & importance of this great man's work. Whoops! Anyway, the DVD presentation is a joy to watch. A must own for all serious DVD collectors. I can pick out Joan Fontaine as the page boy but can't see Joseph Cotten for the life of me. Is this another one of Orson's illusions?

Summary of Orson Welles' Othello